According to The Pitch Prospect, Newcastle rejected a request from Juventus for defender Lloyd Kelly.
The Serie A giant’s interest came after Fenerbahce rejected a bid for former Bournemouth centre-back Kelly earlier in the week.
2
Magpies boss Eddie Howe wants Kelly to stay after bringing him in on a free transfer from his old team in the summer transfer window.
The 26-year-old has made just 13 appearances for Newcastle since joining, which is 16th in the Magpies’ squad.
Kelly was a sought-after player when he became a free agent in the summer as he was a regular starter and had solid Premier League experience in defence.
And Newcastle won the battle with Howe and the player wanting a reunion.
However, things haven’t quite worked out this season with Lewis Hall replacing him at left-back and now centre-back Sven Botman has returned.
This means any sale would be a pure profit for Newcastle.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce were clearly confident it was a bargain deal and made a move for Kelly at the start of the January window, but it was rejected.
Still, Juventus could prove to be a more tempting option considering they play in the Champions League.
The 36-time Serie A winners are currently in 14th place in the league phase of the competition, putting them in the play-off places and just two points away from automatic progress to the round of 16.
Domestically, however, the situation is not so easy as the gap to league leaders Napoli is a massive 13 points.
2
New coach Thiago Motta was on a four-game winning streak at the start of the new year, but ended it on Saturday with an impressive 2-0 win over Milan, avenging the Super Cup defeat.
They did this again without Gleison Bremer, who was an integral part under Motta until a cruciate ligament injury ended his season, meaning defensive reinforcements are desperately needed this window.
Should Kelly make the move, he would be only the fifth Englishman to play for the Old Lady after David Platt, Samuel Iling, Stephy Mavididi and William John Jordan.